"I couldn't possibly fail to disagree with you less."
18 July 2006The door revolves
If the Hornets return to New Orleans, as everyone involved swears they will, this is the most likely spot the Sonics will end up: team support here is running well beyond original expectations, and NBA Commissioner David Stern would much prefer to have another team move here than to deal with angry Hornets fans in Louisiana.
[Clay] Bennett and Oklahoma Professional Sports LLC, the ad hoc business consortium that backed Oklahoma City's bid to host the Hornets from 2005 through 2007, have set up a corporation to seek an NBA franchise for the city, be it the Hornets if they stay, or another team should they go. Meanwhile in Seattle, [Howard] Schultz is making noises about selling out.
Berry Tramel, The Oklahoman, just now:
An Oklahoma City investor group led by Clay Bennett has reached agreement to purchase the Seattle SuperSonics for a reported $350 million, according to multiple sources. Sources in Seattle confirmed a Tuesday afternoon press conference to announce the sale, and the Seattle Times and the Fox Sports Northwest both reported the purchase.
The Seattle Times story is here. Now if I could just predict the farging stock market. Posted at 3:55 PM to Net ProceedsI don't really care what happens to the Sonics, beyond the fact that losing an NBA team diminishes the Seattle sports scene as a whole. Since sports franchises are a big part of the culture of a city. I suppose that would be nice for Oklahoma City to have an NBA team to stay for a while. But I really really really hope the Storm can stay in Seattle. They won't follow the Sonics to Oklahoma City. They have a pretty darn good fan base in Seattle already. I'd hate to see them have to give that up. Posted by: Erica at 10:06 PM on 18 July 2006I hadn't really thought about the Storm, but you're probably right: while OKC has NBA-market credentials, we know from nothing about the WNBA, and there's no good reason to pull the Storm out of Seattle and toss them out onto the prairie. Maybe that's the eventual setup: the Sonics migrate, the Storm remain. Posted by: CGHill at 6:17 AM on 19 July 2006John Rohde in the Oklahoman thinks the Storm will end up in Tulsa. |